Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg. Photo: Waldteufel – Fotolia

Following is a listing of executive and legislative action from the week of July 13. Both houses of the General Assembly were in recess at press time. The Pennsylvania Senate was subject to recall by President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson. The state House of Representatives was subject to recall by Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster.

Police Reform

Gov. Tom Wolf on July 14 signed into law two police reform measures, saying they "make progress in keeping every Pennsylvanian safe."

The measures, which both passed unanimously in the House and Senate, are the first two pieces of legislation listed in the governor's comprehensive police reform executive actions announced in early June in the wake of the death of George Floyd when in Minneapolis police custody and subsequent protests in Pennsylvania and across the country.

House Bill 1841, which was sponsored by state Rep. Harry Readshaw, D-Allegheny, requires background checks for law enforcement job applicants prior to being employed and requires law enforcement agencies to disclose job records. It also establishes an electronic database containing separation records of law enforcement officers.

House Bill 1910, which was sponsored by state Rep. Dan Williams, D-Chester, requires mental health evaluations with a focus on PTSD of law enforcement officers as a condition of continued employment. The evaluation may be upon request of a law enforcement officer or a police chief or within 30 days of an incident of the use of lethal force.

HB 1841 was enrolled as Act 57 of 2020. HB 1910 was enrolled as Act 59 of 2020.

Emergency Declarations

The tug-of-war between Wolf, a Democrat, and the Republican-controlled General Assembly over the power to declare emergencies continued last week.

The Pennsylvania Senate on July 15 approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would limit the length of future emergency disaster declarations unless an extension is approved by the General Assembly. The Senate passed the measure on a 33-17 vote one day after the state House of Representatives approved it on a 115-86 vote.

Senate Bill 1166, sponsored by Sen. Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, would reduce future emergency declarations from 90 to 21 days, unless lawmakers approve a longer duration. As a constitutional measure it would also say that the General Assembly does not need to present a bill to curtail the declaration to the governor for approval.

"The way things stand now goes against the grain of our representative republic," Ward said.

"Currently, a governor can call a state of emergency where he or she has the unilateral power to override regulations, spend money, and put mandates in place, and can continue to do this without any legislative approval."

The state Supreme Court in June held that any bills passed by the General Assembly to end emergency declarations must be presented to the governor for signature. Wolf earlier this month vetoed such a bill.

As a constitutional amendment, the legislation must be approved again in the next legislative session before being put on the ballot for voters to decide.

Local Government

By unanimous votes last week, the House passed two bills sponsored by Rep. Dan Moul, R-Adams, aimed at assisting local governments with disposal of waste and recyclables, and helping distressed municipalities better manage their finances.

Moul, who is chairman of the House Local Government Committee, sponsored House Bill 2122, which would bring Borough Code provisions for the accumulation, collection and disposal of municipal waste and recyclables, and contracts, rates and charges in line with the Third Class City Code and Second Class Township Code, making the law governing these local government services clear and consistent.

House Bill 2141 would help distressed municipalities in the Act 47 fiscal recovery program to adopt a home rule charter to diversify their revenue structure or pursue professionalism and financial controls to address the causes of financial distress. It would also help the Local Government Commission to study the recovery objectives of municipalities under home rule in Pennsylvania, and permit enforcement of voter adopted taxpayer protection provisions contained in a home rule charter. Tax rates adopted prior to the clarification language in this bill would be grandfathered.

"I am pleased with the unanimous passage of both of these bills in the House," Moul said in a statement. "They would provide some consistency in the implementation of our local laws and would make the home rule process more efficient for distressed municipalities, helping them to adopt a charter more consistent with the goals of the municipality's financial recovery." Both bills now go to the Senate for consideration.

Scholarship Accounts

Pennsylvania Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair, and state Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Tioga, jointly announced July 15 that they have introduced legislation that would create new scholarship accounts for students whose education was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Senate Bill 1230 and House Bill 2696 each propose to create Back on Track Education Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) to offset educational costs for their school-age children in grades K-12.

"With the coronavirus, there is more need than ever for flexible education options since schools closed and families are bearing increased expenses from at-home learning," Ward said. "These ESAs will help students, regardless of the type of school they attend, make up for lost schooling and give parents some vital financial help to get their children the educational resources they need."

Back on Track ESAs could only be used for approved education-related purchases, such as tuition, online classes, curriculum, tutoring, counseling and services for students with special needs.

The measure would allow parents to receive $1,000 per child in the scholarship account, which would come from a portion of the state's federal CARES Act funds. School-age children who currently qualify for Pennsylvania's free or reduced-cost lunch program would have priority in applying for the ESAs. After the initial application period, any school-age child would be eligible on a first-come, first-served basis.

If the law is enacted, Back on Track ESA accounts would be administered by the Pennsylvania Treasury.

Probation System

The Senate unanimously approved a bipartisan bill July 15 to reform Pennsylvania's probation system by removing technical trap doors for persons under court supervision.

The sponsors of Senate Bill 14—Sens. Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia, and Camera Bartolotta, R-Washington—said in a statement that it would begin to restore the probation system to its original purpose of being a pathway out of the criminal justice system.

The bill creates incentives for probationers to succeed through credits for good behavior, such as maintaining a job and performing community services.

It also curtails reincarceration for minor technical violations that are not actual crimes—such as being late for an appointment, traveling out of state or being unable to pay fines and restitution—which have led to excessive extensions of probation or prison time that far exceed the original sentence handed down at trial.

The bill now moves to the House for consideration.